I think you guys know that I am a life member of SCI being in the North American Handgun Hunters Chapter with Taz Ridley as the president. Yesterday I received a copy of an e-mail sent to him by Nita Mackley, director of member and chapter cervices, that informed him that on Aug. 16, 2014 the SCI Board of Directors approved the dissolution of the N.A. Handgun Hunters Chapter as requested by the chapters Board of Directors. Not good... I sent another e-mail to Nita Mackley asking what had happened and she replied that I have to wait until she returns to her office for a reply... Have to hold on until Tuesday for an answer...... Make sure you guys get out and kill something with your handgun and support this site as much as you can.

That's not good. Any idea why?

???? no

I'd guess$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$. The rifle boys get in on all the awards and spend a lot. Very few handgunners do. They tried to get me to set up a WV handgun chapter. I told them I'd be pres., vice-pres., sexatary, and treasure, plus have 100% attendance in meetings (me).
I could count the # of real handgun hunters in WV on my fingers and toes (probably just fingers). Our #s are few, but our interest is great. SCI wants $, not passion.

bingo

I would guess it has a lot to do with participation. There are not enough of us who get out and actually hunt with our handguns. There are a lot of guys that get on forums and talk handguns & talk hunting, but then fail to get out and hunt with their handguns. Please everyone, go hunting with your handguns!! You don't need a beast of a handgun....a 44 Mag will take 99 % of all game animals that anyone would ever want to hunt. Remember y'all, any big game animal taken with a handgun is a trophy, even a doe!! Taking a doe with a handgun beats just talking about it. Let's fill the bragging board up this season!!

Read that on another forum on the 28th. Concensus of opinion is a combination of lack of participation/$$$$......

James, I was also member of that Chapter, but dropped my membership about 10 years ago. If I remember correctly, SCI sets a minimum number of members in order to authorize a Chapter. I will say that the couple of Sportsmen Against Hunger hunts that I attended on the YO always seemed to have good member participation, but perhaps that participation, and the membership rolls, declined in the last 10 years or so.
Sorry to hear it. All types of hunting are in decline.

It's sad when an organization looses focus on why they were assembled(passion)and makes decisions using a business(profit) model.

Start our own ?

Thats not a bad idea.

Very good idea!

So what would you guys expect to get from such an organization?

good info on how to get new members started as cheaply and as painlessly as possible. i.e. expanding handgun hunting. bowhunting is huge b/c many hunters want a more challenging hunt than a rifle provides. handgun hunting a natural step and should be more popular than it is. the misinformation is huge and realistic information being spread is important. i think that would be number one. recently the number of people that were surprised that you could kill a blackbear with a 44 mag was astounding.

Mark, I know you were like me & grew up reading about the handgun hunting pioneers taking the Big Five & Six with the 44 Mag. The 44 still offers a great combination of power & mild recoil. The 44 Mag is still one of the best handgun hunting rounds that is available today.

Exactly , and now 30 years later the majority of rifle hunters dont even know a 44 mag is overkill for blackbears. They can be dispatched handily with a 357. Read most of the talk now and the 44 mag is a good training gun but to hunt big stuff now ya evidently need an exclusive super mag with no brass availability and advanced reloading knowledge. The new hamdgun hunters quit
Before they even begin. The ruger 480 will hopefully be successful and the 41 mag is viewed as a deer and smaller cartridge. I think an organization putting out truthful info would go a long long way

The 41 is a great round but it's not as good a choice as the 44 in my opinion because ammo can sometimes be significantly harder to find than 44 mag ammo. Unless there is hording going on and then sometimes 41 Mag is the only ammo on the shelf.

Very true. I think overall the 44 is a great choice and i never have forgotten the sporting goods store in ketchikan alaska. They had 3 454 loads 2 500 smith loads, one 460 load, and seven diff 44 mag loads. None of the odd balls there.

Reply to my question: Hi James, yes the chapter actually decided on their own to dissolve the charter. They haven’t been able to hold a fundraiser for more than 2 years and since the chapter is not located in a state it’s been very difficult to get the support necessary to sustain a local chapter. Nita Mackley, Director of Member and Chapter Services

It's understandable that participation in this sport is lacking. First and foremost to hunt with most handguns requires that one posses good hunting skills on par with a bow hunter and not a food plot hunter. Secondly, it requires a constant regimen of practice to keep your skills up. In today's fast paced world of instant gratification by the younger crowd coming up amongst our ranks many don't want to take the time to scout their quarry or put in the range time. It's up to us to encourage the younger generations to get involved and hooked on probably the most satisfying form of hunting next to the atlatl hunting.

No different than what we are seeing here in PA with the archery season.
Since they made crossbows legal for the regular season, all of the guys who never put the time in to practice or tune their rigs are switching to xbows.

Pick them up and go.

Well, that pretty much sums it up.

Well said!

Hey, now, not all of us are like that.